Housing Rankings

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>I know that there was another thread on housing with the link to an interesting website for housing, but could current students give us their opinions on the different dorms at NU?</p>

<p>Also, if someone could rank the top 5 residential housing (freshman housing), I'd really appriciate it....</p>

<p>...in terms of overall quality of the rooms (1 being really baddddd and 5 being new infrastructure with great amenities)...</p>

<p>...in terms of rowdiness (1 being quiet and studious and 5 being loud and full of party animals)...</p>

2

<p>What you think the "top" places to live are honestly depends on what type of person you are - so it is very hard to choose what you think is the right place to live before you get here and know the dorms. The most popular dorms on south campus are Allison and Willard (Residential college). The most popular on north campus are Bobb-McCulloch and Elder (all freshmen). The rooms in Elder are some of the smallest on campus, while Chapin Res. College, on south campus, has the largest on campus. Having a dining hall in your dorm is especially convenient during winter quarter. Sargent, Elder, Foster-Walker, 1835 Hinman, Willard and Allison all have dining halls (of varying quality) in-house. Foster-Walker Complex is (I think) the largest dorm on campus, housing about 700 people in mostly singles (There are like 4 quads). </p>

<p>As for the overall quality of rooms, it is hard to rank the dorms because none of them are terrible (deserving of a 1), while none of them are fabulous either. They are honestly pretty similar in most ways. </p>

<p>Rowdiness, however, I probably can comment on. The larger dorms, with the exception of Foster-Walker, are almost always the loudest and have the most parties. Bobb is known as the "party dorm", but Elder and Willard have their fair-share of parties as well. If you absolutely can't deal with people in the halls at 3am (on weeknights as well), I would a choose a small, possibly single-sex dorm. </p>

<p>That's all I can think of for right now, but if you want to ask me any questions I'll try to answer as best as I can.</p>

3

<p>How's Willard? It sounds pretty cool and I can't choose between that and Allison. Anything specific you can share?</p>

4

<p>glamorbaby.. im really considering Allison for a residence hall.. but the mice problem thing is really bugging me... i just get skittering thinking about mice in my dorm room.. do you know if that's still a problem at Allison?</p>

5

<p>According to someone who just finished Freshman year at Allison over at the NU LJ community, he didn't notice a problem at all and loves the dorm. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.livejournal.com/community/northwestern/102556.html?thread=607900#t607900%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.livejournal.com/community/northwestern/102556.html?thread=607900#t607900&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>Thanks dflefish!... hmm i think im definately going to put Allison down as my first choice for the fall :)</p>

7

<p>haha... flefish, that's a new one for me.</p>

<p>No problem. I don't know too much about housing but I'll offer help when I do :) As I said, I'd like some more info about Willard before I rank my choices, but Allison and Willard seem to be up top.</p>

8

<p>OMG.. im sorry!! my typing is soo off..</p>

9

<p>Hi dfleish. I actually live in Willard this year - and I must say, I love it. I'm living here next year. There are many Willard-sponsored activities during new student week and fall quarter that really help you get to know the people you live with. The rooms are very decently sized (mine, which is a typical double, is about 12' by 14'), it has its own dining hall (although people's opinions differ on its food quality), and is located as close as possible to downtown Evanston. I love the people in Willard and all by best friends are here. However, that is one downside of living in such an all-consuming dorm - you tend to (kind of) only hang out with Willard people. </p>

<p>m3ssi - I know quite a few people who live in Allison and haven't heard anything at all about mice/rodents of any variety. Allison was actually my second choice when I picked housing, and even now I know I would very happy in Allison. It also has its own dining hall and the rooms are of comparable size to those in Willard. For the most part, the people in Allison tend to be very normal, which, you will find out when you come here, is not quite as common as you might think/wish. </p>

<p>Hope that helps! Feel free to ask more - this is one of the few subjects on CC that I know enough about to comment on!</p>

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<p>Yea. im definately making Allison my first choice.. from what i read bout it on CC.. and from the student opinion site.. etc.. it's really the place for me. I study and all.. but i also like to have a life outside of studying... but i dont like to party either. Now i just have to come up with what i belive is 4 other choices.... I'm thinking about Chaplin.. but im not to sure about it.. i really want to meet people at NU.. and Chaplin's description says it holds only about 70 ppl.. but the room size is attractive. Do you know if when we apply to a residentail college, and we get in, we HAVE to live there?</p>

11

<p>Hey you guys,</p>

<p>First off, I want to congratulate you all on your acceptances to NU. I am a Northwestern frosh and am also in the middle of my housing process. I just wanted to give you my take on housing.</p>

<p>I have visited many of the dorms on campus. As well, I have information about other dorms. There is a dorm information site on <a href="http://www"&gt;www&lt;/a>. northwestern.edu. Unfortunately, these comments are from 2001. As well, many of them are really wrong. For example, the dorm I'm living in this year as well as next (Ayers CCI) has some comments about hate crime. That was just a bunch of trash. </p>

<p>Anyways, as you can tell, NU has its shares of residential colleges and residential halls. The first thing you should probably assess is what you want in a room. If you want a social dorm, a study dorm, an in between dorm, a single, a double, a big room, etc..there are dorms that fit this. </p>

<p>Differences between Residential Colleges and Halls:</p>

<p>As a freshman, I'll tell you, that you have more options in dorm living than upperclassmen b/c you have more residential colleges at your fingertips. Colleges basically are little communities than usually specialize in a certain subject (there are two colleges, Shephard and Willard, that are multithematic). There's a residential college for science and engineering, business, theatre, international relations, communication, women, humanities, etc. You don't have to be a particular major to be in a res college. I live in the business res college, and there aren't that many econ majors. The advantage of res colleges is that some are really nice inside (Slivka in my opinion is one of the cleanest, most beautiful dorms on this campus). As well, you get a lot of trips funded for you ( there's a Yo Yo Ma concert that is giving free tickets worth 40 dollars to res college students) Those are your basic advantages. Plus, they have a lot of professors/speakers that come in and can help you find internships/research etc. You can get good guidance, too. In order to stay at res colleges the next year, you need to fulfill a certain amount of points. Also, if you want to live in another res college your following years, you have to become a member of that college and start earning points for it. </p>

<p>Basically, that's your basic difference. You'll probably find more diversity in a hall (diversity in terms of majors). </p>

<p>Most popular dorms on campus:
Allison, Willard, Slivka, Kemper, Bobb-McCulloch (basically the same dorm..they're attached), Foster-Walker, Elder</p>

<p>I noticed a lot of you are putting Allison and Willard down as your first choices. It's the same deal this year. Almost every current NU frosh is putting Allison as their first choice (Willard being a res college isn't open to everyone). The thing is, you guys have to expect you won't get into Allison. A lot of frosh do (b/c they want a balance of year levels), but many more don't. It's just a very popular dorm overall. As well, if you have some unpopular dorms on your list (Same-sex dorms, nearly empty dorms), they'll give you those usually (even if you put the same sex dorm as your fifth choice). This goes for some of the other popular dorms (though, FW complex or elder or bobb aren't that hard to get into as a frosh). </p>

<p>Dorms with biggest room sizes:</p>

<p>Allison, Willard, Ayers College of Commerce and Industry, and Chapin (biggest rooms on campus). If you really want a big room, I'd say go for one of these. People generally argue which dorm has bigger rooms, but they're all a good size so that the differences are negligible. </p>

<p>Dorms with really small rooms:</p>

<p>Elder (not the smallest on campus as someone said previously), Jones (I think these are the smallest on campus), NMQ, SMQ (damn small), 1835 Hinman, Hinman House </p>

<p>Dorms that have singles that are available to freshman:</p>

<p>As a freshman, getting a single is not easy. Chances are in most dorms you won't get one (Allison doesn't have singles except for the RA rooms). If you have to have a single, Foster-Walker Complex is for you. Also, the same-sex dorms have singles available to frosh. I know the male one has pretty decent sized singles. I haven't visited Rogers and Hobart (the women dorms). These are your best bets for getting a single as a freshman. Otherwise, it's just luck (I have a dingle in Ayers CCI-a room meant for two people but I live in it alone..I am darn lucky :) )</p>

<p>Notably clean dorms: Willard (really great bathrooms too), Ayers College of Commerce and Industry, Slivka, Allison (in the lobby and dining hall..the bathrooms aren't as clean, but it looks like an appealing dorm overall)</p>

<p>Notably "dirty" dorms: Bobb (I don't think it's that bad..but some don't like it), Elder (also don't think it's that bad), Sargent (dear god..I hate this place..it looks like a jail)</p>

<p>Notable social dorms: Willard, Shephard, Allison, Bobb, Elder, Jones, Foster House</p>

<p>Notable "Not very social" dorms: Foster Walker, Slivka (it's not antisocial as people say, but its pretty tranquil usually---there are parties here sometimes), Sargent</p>

<p>Notable "In betweens" (places where people have fun and are good places to study): Ayers College of Commerce and Industry (people are really friendly and open; plus we have really nice study lounges), other res colleges</p>

<p>Dorms that used to be old fraternity houses:
These dorms were old frat houses. Thereby their relatively small in number of people and are not really popular. They are Lindgren, College of Cultural and Community Studies, Foster House</p>

<p>Dorms that are big in number:
If you want like over 200 people in your dorm: Allison, Bobb-McCulloch, Foster-Walker, Elder</p>

<p>Dorms that are small in number:
Less than hundred people live in these dorms: North Mid Quads, South Mid Quads, Hinman House (less than 50 I think), Lindgren (36 people)</p>

<p>Average number of people: 100-200 people live in these
Most residential colleges; Sargent</p>

<p>Most South Campus dorms: Allison, Willard, Chapin, NMQ, SMQ, Hobart, Rogers, Jones, 1835 Hinman, ISRC (International studies res college), East Fairchild (communications res college), Shephard</p>

<p>Most North Campus dorms: Slivka, Bobb-McCulloch, Elder, 600 Lincoln, Foster house, College of Cultural and Community Studies, Ayers CCI, Lindgren, Hinman House</p>

<p>Foster Walker is kind of in the middle (more close to South, though).</p>

<p>Differences between North and South:
South-closer to town, more diversity of majors (theatre, engineering, history, math etc), closer to liberal arts and theatre classes, close to sororities, known as more social</p>

<p>North-closer to tech institute (good for premeds, engineers), near SPAC (the best gym on campus), close to lake, near fraternities, can be pretty social too</p>

<p>I'm from California, and I could handle the winter pretty well. I didn't mind the walk between both campuses. Plus, there are shuttles that run in the night time. </p>

<p>Promotion for my dorm:</p>

<p>I live in Ayers College of Commerce and Industry (aka Ayers CCI aka CCI). It is a residential college that specializes in business and economics. I am not interested in either one of those, but I still enjoyed my experience in my dorm. I'm living here next year. </p>

<p>Ayers CCI is very underrated. It is one of the newer dorms on campus (it's pretty clean and has big rooms). As well, people are really social here. Moreover, there are great study lounges for people who want to work. </p>

<p>As a science major, it's been really convenient in terms of getting to my classes at Tech. Plus, I haven't found it a big deal to go to South Campus at all (I enjoy the walk and the shuttles help). It's next to Lisa's Cafe-a good convenience store with great submarine sandwiches. Our closest dining halls are Sargent and Elder (haven't found it a big deal to have to walk to my dining halls during winter). </p>

<p>There are mostly freshman and sophomores in this dorm. So you'll definitely meet many people of your year, plus get good guidance from people ahead of you. </p>

<p>It's really close to the lake (very beautiful) and to the best gym on campus. </p>

<p>If you want to live in a clean, social, large-roomed, study-helpful, north campus dorm, CCI is a great place. </p>

<p>Lastly,</p>

<p>If you apply to a res college, you don't have to live there. If you don't like where you got into, you can put yourself on a waitlist for another dorm. </p>

<p>Don't get all worked up over the res college essays, just write a paragraph on some crud about how you think it will give you great opportunities, etc.</p>

12

<p>Wow, thanks. I plan on doing eco so the business college does sound interesting, although I'd like to diversify a bit. The Communications college I've heard is a lot of fun, too. So I guess if I put Willard, Allison, CRC, CCI, I'll be happy. Not sure I want to live up north though. </p>

<p>"Willard, being a res college isn't open to everyone."</p>

<p>What specifically does one need to get into a res college?</p>

13

<p>Dang that cleared up a lot of questions. One thing I was wondering is if most upperclassmen housing is fillled and if we can expect to have to find something off campus later</p>

14

<p>What I meant by "Willard, being a res college isn't open to everyone."</p>

<p>I meant this statement for soph, juniors, and seniors. As a frosh, you are lucky that all the res colleges are open to you. It's not really the case for upperclassmen.</p>

<p>I live in Ayers CCI. To ensure my spot in the dorm next year, I had to earn points. Each res college has different requirements on the number of points you have to get in order to stay in. My dorm at first required 64 points (it has since changed). As well, if you have a lot of points, you can choose which specific room you want in the dorm the next year (single, double, big room, smaller room, corner room, lakeview room etc). </p>

<p>Say I wanted to move to Willard sophomore year. Either someone who has a spot in Willard can ask me to be their roomate and I can move to Willard, or I would have to start earning points for Willard myself. I would have to apply to be a Non-Resident member at Willard, which gives me a key to their dorm and access to their activities. Then I would have to start earning points to live in their dorm next year. </p>

<p>What I meant by not being open to everyone:
A lot of people don't have the time and don't want to take the effort to be a Non-Resident member for a dorm. Thereby, they haven't earned the points for it, and that dorm isn't open to them. As well, since I'm part of a res college already, it's annoying keeping up activities and points for two dorms. </p>

<p>As a freshman, just write your essay/paragraph (don't stress over it..it doesn't need to be some great thing). All the residential colleges are open to you.</p>

15

<p>Great post!</p>

<p>Is it possible to take a look at the dorms while visiting? Will someone let you in if I ask some random people?</p>

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<p>How do you get points?</p>

17

<p>and also, which res college is the business one?</p>

18

<p>dfleish - a word of advice: If you put CRC (Comm. Studies Res. College) anywhere on your list, you very well may get put there. As far as I'm aware, it tends to be a dorm they have a hard time filling to capacity.</p>

<p>I'll answer for nustudent since I'm already here...
tiff - it is really easy to look at a dorm while you're here. Just hang around outside the dorm you want to look in and catch someone as they're going in and ask them if you can take a look at their room - nearly everyone is willing (and excited) to show a prospie their room. </p>

<p>takingiteasy - I'm not sure how you get points in other res. colleges, but in Willard, we get points by going to firesides, doing muchies, recycling, and many other ways. Firesides are, I guess I could call them programs, that occur each week in your dorm. The topics they are on can range from going to grad school to Donnie Darko. Sometimes professors come and speak, other times it's students who do a presentation on whatever they want (a recent one of ours was "Play the Ponies" - how to gamble and win on horse races). Munchies are every Thursday, where the dorm will buy food (usually some sort of take-out) and residents can go and get it for free and hang out with other people in your dorm. It's really easy to get the minimum number of points without really trying, so don't let the point requirement deter you from applying to a res. college.</p>

<p>cleverthinkin - I don't think there is an actually business res college. As nustudent said earlier, Ayers (CCI) is the college of commerce and industry, and that's probably the closest to business as the theme go.
<a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/residentialcolleges/visitors/colleges/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.northwestern.edu/residentialcolleges/visitors/colleges/index.html&lt;/a> is a website that has descriptions of all the residential colleges.</p>

19

<p>Glamourbaby had it down with the points. Common ways are firesides, taking charge of munchies (you order pizza/chinese/bagels for the dorm for the week using money from the dorm), and attending special activities (We had a business symposium, special lunches with a professor, a latin dance party, etc). If you want to hold an event (like take responsibility for karaoke night, a movie night, etc), you can earn points that way and help others get points just by attending. My dorm also let us send in photographs of people at dorm activities and we got points (the photographs will be used for our 'yearbook'). Also you earn points every week just by going to a general board meeting that just tells what events are coming up. Lastly, if you are desperate for more points, the executive board of dorms will find menial tasks for you to do to earn some. </p>

<p>Glamourbaby29 is right, earning points isn't a huge deal. You do have to take iniative, but it's not really much. </p>

<p>cleverthinkin-</p>

<p>Ayers College of Commerce and Industry does specialize in economics and business. We do have professors and advisors come in and talk about paths in business and how to get into business school. It really is a good dorm and underrated by many people.</p>

20

<p>Hey dfleish,
In response to your question about Willard, I have absolutly loved living here this year. It has a real sense of community, so adjusting to being away from home was very easy. New student week included lots of activities through which we got to know people outside of our floor and upperclassmen. The dorm government is also very active. People here tend to be very social, friendly, and laid back. The rooms are also quite big compared to other dorms. My roommate and I have our beds unbunked with lots of space to spare. The dining hall (SAGA) isn't stellar, but when it's 0 degrees outside, you are really glad that it's there. To live here you have to earn points, which you can do by going to fireside presentations, putting on firesides (varied topics from healthy sleep patterns, donnie darko, or surviving SAGA food), doing recycling, hanging bathroom journals, ect. It's really very easy to do. My future roomie (glamourbaby19) and I earned a lot of points and our room is HUGE!<br>
I have heard that Willard is the most applied to dorm on campus, so here are a couple ideas I have for applying: don't put down dorms on your list that tend not to fill up (single sex dorms, foster-walker, the fairchilds) because if you do, you will most likely be put there. Also, Willard, along with all res colleges, requires a short essay. Don't write about how you like Willard because it is close to Evanston or your classes. The people who choose the residents are looking for enthusiastic people who will help foster the sense of community here, not those looking for proximity to burger king.<br>
As you can tell, I love Willard and highly recommend it, but those who apply here also seem to put down Allison and Shepard on their lists, so I'm sure that the people are quite similar.<br>
I hope this helps!
NUcat</p>